While digital cameras or color printers advance remarkably, as to the processing of silver halide color photographic photosensitive materials, it is desired to provide prints with high-quality images speedily to customers. However, according to conventional processing, the time for which is merely shortened, the processing ends before sensitizing dyes in a photosensitive material are sufficiently washed out; therefore, a large amount of the sensitizing dyes remaining in white background portions of a color print (i.e. color-remains) causes an original image to be colored. In short, so-called stain is generated. As a result, the value for appreciation of the image is impaired. According to conventional processing, the density of the minimum density portion in a color negative film also increases, so that color balance is damaged. Thus, an appropriate print cannot be provided.
Further, in recent years, the use of tabular silver halide grains, which is an important basic technique in high-sensitivity photosensitive materials for shooting, has produced effects of improving sensitivity and the sensitivity/granularity ratio, since the amount of a sensitizing dye used per unit volume can be made large. However, the amount of the sensitizing dye remaining in the processed photosensitive material has been increased. Depending on conditions for the processing, the increase in the amount of the residual sensitizing dye cannot be ignored. Thus, there is caused a phenomenon in which the density of the minimum density portion of a color negative film increases, or the highlight portion of a color reversal film becomes colored.
Research Disclosure No. 20733 on page 268 (1981) discloses, as an example of a method for removing color-remains resulting from a sensitizing dye, a method of using a bistriazinylaminostylbene disulfonic acid compound. This method has been used widely in the processing of color photographic photosensitive materials. JP-A-6-329936 (“JP-A” means unexamined published Japanese patent application) discloses a bistriazinylaminostylbene disulfonic acid compound with superior solubility that can decrease color-remains even in processing conducted in a shorter time. U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,425 discloses a photographic fixing additive composition and a photographic fixing composition using a bistriazinylaminostylbenedisulfonic acid compound.
It is also desired to make a processing composition thicker, aiming, for example, to decrease the quantity of waste containers, improve recycling ability, and reduce transport and storage costs. JP-A-2001-281823 discloses a bistriazinylaminostylbene disulfonic acid compound that is stably dissolved when a solution of compound has concentrated to have a high salt concentration, and that produces sufficient advantageous effects in shortened-processing when the compound is used at a concentration not more than the solubility thereof.
In general, a bistriazinylaminostylbene disulfonic acid compound is used by being added to a developing solution, to exhibit the effect of decreasing color-remains. However, when the compound is added to a fixing solution, the compound deteriorates in the presence of components of the fixing solution. Therefore, it is difficult to keep the performance of the compound stable. A bistriazinylaminostylbene disulfonic acid compound is originally a fluorescent bleaching agent. Thus, the compound may give unnecessary fluorescent whiteness to the processed photosensitive material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,364 discloses a diaryltriazine compound as an agent for reducing color-remains that has improved stability in a fixing solution, and no fluorescent bleaching ability. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,227 B1 discloses a compound having improved stability in a concentrated fixing composition and a kit. However, compounds having a higher effect of decreasing color-remains have been desired.